Ice pack



p 1939- J. D. BATES I 2,174,455

' ICE PACK Filed Feb. 12, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l J. D. BATES Sept. 26,1939.

ICE PACK Filed Feb. 12, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 s s s s s s s s s s s s ss s H m N s s s s s Patented Sept. 26, 1939 UNITED STATES, PATENT orrlcs2,174,455 f Joseph D. Bffifn si ri rfleld, Mall.

Application February 12, 1937, Serial No. 125,509

Claims.

This application is a continuation in part of my co-pending application.Ser. No. 85,455, now Patent No. 2,120,013.

This invention relates broadly to devices for 5 use in heating orcooling any body member or article to which heat is to be applied orfrom which heat is to be withdrawn. In the more usual use of the devicesforming the subject of the invention, the same are intended to beemployed to .10 cool parts of the human body or any other member orarticle, and the construction of the devices according to the inventionis particularly adapted for such use. v By the present invention it isproposed to prol5 vide a hollow receptacle or container formed ofimpervious material and having a substantial quantity of a liquid sealedtherein, which container may be'placed in a refrigerator or othercooling apparatus to cause the entrapped liquid to be frozen. Thecontainer may then be applied to the part or article to be cooled andwill effectively do so by absorption of heat from the part or article bythe frozen liquid within the container or receptacle.

It is a particular object of the present invention to provide a deviceof the character described which will be so formed as to prevent theformation of large masses of ice therein, whereby a cooling deviceformed according to the in- QQ vention may be easily bent or formed toany desired shape to fit any part or article to which it is to beapplied.

Another object is to provide acooling device of .the type describedwhich will be provided interiorly with means which extend into theliquid entrapped therein and about which such liquid may be frozen, tothereby prevent the formation of large, regular masses of ice therein.

A further object is to provide a cooling device 4@ of the characterdescribed, in which the means provided for preventing the formation oflarge masses of ice within the device will consist of an insert memberdisposed within the device and being so formed as to provide regular orirregular openings within the device within which the liquid therein maybe frozen in small separated masses of ice.

A still further object is to provide a cooling device of the typedescribed which will consist in a hollow impervious container having aquantity of a liquid sealed therein and having a separate insert membertherein which is adapted to prevent the formation of large masses of icewithin the container, whereby the container may be bent to a desiredshape.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a cooling device ofthe type described which may be easily and cheaply manufactured andwhich will be strong and rugged in construction.

Other objects and features of novelty will be I apparent from thefollowing description and the annexed drawings, it being clearlyunderstood. however, that the invention is not limited in any way bysuch description and drawings or otherwise than by the appended claims.10

Referring to the drawings, in which similar reference numerals refer tolike parts:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a cooling appliance which is formedaccording to the present invention; ll

' Fig. 2 is a partial sectional view taken on the line A-A of Fig. 1 andshowing one form which the invention may take;

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of P18. 2; 20

Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view, similar to Fig. 3, and showing afurther form which the invention may take;

Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view, similar to Fig. 1 3, and showing afurther form which the inveng5 tlon may take;

Fig. 6 is a partial sectional view taken on the line AA of Fig. 1 andshowings. further form which the invention may take;

Fig. '7 is a partial sectional view taken on the line I'I of Fig. 6;

.Fig. 8 is a partial sectional view taken on the line A-A of Fig. l'andshowing a modified form of the invention;

Fig. 9 is a partial sectional view taken on the 35 line 99 of Fig. 8;

' Fig. 10 is a partial sectional view taken on the line A-A of Fig. 1,and

Fig. 11 is a partial sectional view taken on the line H-ll of Fig. 10.

According to this invention, I proposetoprovide a sealed container whichis preferably formed of some flexible impervious material such asrubber, and in which is sealed a quantity of a liquid, such as water,which may be frozen in such an ordi- 46 narily-available cooling deviceas a refrigerator,- in order to provide a unitary, sealed,easily-handled device which may be applied to a body part or otherarticle or member in order to cool the same. Such a device is disclosedgenerally in 50 Fig. l and it will be seen that the same comprises anelongated, flat receptacle I which is generally rectangular in shapeandwhich is preferably formed of some" flexible impervious material,such as rubber. This container is hollow and is. u

preferably formed by a core molding process as a unitary member havingthe opposed flat faces 2, 3. A medial flange 4 may be formed about theperiphery of the receptacle and this flange may, if desired, be extendedat the ends of the container to provide elongated tabs or attaching andhandling flanges 5, one or more of which may be provided with spacedholes 6 therein by which one device may be connected to another, orwhereby the device may be hung when not in use.

After the molding or other formation of the described device and thesubsequent withdrawal of the core, a quantity of a liquid, such aswater, is put into the container, the volume of the liquid beingpreferably less than the internal volume of the container in order toprevent rupture of the container when the liquid is frozen. Thecontainer, with the liquid therein, and also having therein an insertformed according to the present invention, is then hermetically sealed.In the use of the device, when it is desired to cool some body member orother article, the described device may be placed in a refrigerator orother cooling apparatus in order to freeze the liquid entrapped withinthe container, after which the device, with the ice formed therein, maybe applied to the body member or article to be cooled.

It will be apparent that it may be desirable to bend the cooling, devicein order to make it conform to the shape of a body member or otherarticle which is to be cooled. It will also be seen that if ,a solidmass of iceis formed within the container, it will be virtuallyimpossible to bend the cooling device. Means are, thenefore, provided bythe present invention for preventing the formation of large solid massesof ice within the container and, according to the present invention,such means comprise an insert member which is disposed within thecontainer and which is so" formed as to cause the liquid which surroundsit within the container to be divided into a number of smaller bodieswhereby, when such liquid is frozen, a number of relatively small,separated masses of ice will be formed, which can be easily broken apartor moved relatively to each other to thereby permit the cooling deviceto be easily bent. Preferably, this insert device is formed of flexibleor resilient material in order to facilitate the bending of the icepack.

One form which the invention may take is illustrated in Fig. 2 of, thedrawings and, referring to 'this figure, it will be seen that the icepack I has disposed therein an insert member denoted generally bynumeral ID. This insert member is preferably intended to be of suchextent as to substantially fill the hollow container I and is so formedas to provide separated receptacles or openings in which the liquidwithin the ice pack is adapted to be frozen. In this particular form ofthe invention the insert l comprises a generally rectangular memberhaving side wall portions II and 12, which extend longitudinally of theice pack and which are preferably of such a height as to extendsubstantially from one fiat face 2 to the other flat face 3, and endwall portions l3 which extend laterally of the ice pack. Only one oftheend wall portions 13 is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. Extendingbetween the side wall portions ll, l2 and being preferably disposed-atright angles to the flat faces 2, 3 of. the ice pack and parallel withthe end portions l3 of the insert ID are arranged a plurality of spacedparallel wall members M. The side members ll, l2, the end members l3 andthe wall members I are preferably formed, by a simple molding process,as a unitary member and are preferably formed of rubber or otherflexible or resilient material.

It will be apparent that any liquid within the container I will bereceived within the compartments defined between the Walls l4, and thatwhen such liquid is frozen adjacent masses of ice will be separated bythe flexible wall member therebetween and will be connected only by verythin layers of ice which may be formed adjacent the upper andv loweredges of the wall members. It will be seen that the ice which will beformed within the container will be formed as separated, elongatedmasses of ice which extend transversely of the ice pack and which areseparated by resilient flexible walls. If, it is desired to bend the icepack, this may be done very easily because of the fact that the icemasses are not connected and may be moved or bent relatively to eachother by reason of the flexible or resilient separating means betweenadjacent ice masses.

In Fig. 4 of the drawings there is disclosed a modified form of theinsert member. In this form of the invention the insert is formed offlexible or resilient material and is provided with end members 20 andspaced side members 2|, 22, these members being substantially identicalwith the similar members disclosed in Figs. 2 and 3. Extending betweenthe side wall members 2|, 22 are arranged two series of wall memberswhich extend transversely of the ice pack and at acute angles to theside wall members. One series of transverse members are parallel to eachother and extend at one angle t0 the side wall members while the secondseries of wall members are also parallel to each other and extend at anopposite angle to the side wall members. This arrangement provides aninsert member having a grid construction, and it will be seen that, inthis form of the invention, a larger number of ice masses will beformed, which ice masses will be separated by the flexible or resilienttransverse and angularly-arranged wall members, thereby permitting theice pack to be easily bent.

A further form which the invention may take is disclosed in Fig. 5 ofthe drawings. In this modification the insert member comprises the endmembers 25 and the spaced side wall members 2B, 21 which are connectedbv laterally extending wall members 28. The wall members 28 preferablyextend at right angles to the side Wall members 26, 21 and are parallelwith the end wall 25, while the end walls 25 are connected by alongitudinally-extending wall 29 which is preferably disposed midwaybetween the side walls 26, 21. It will be apparent that the transversewalls 28 and the longitudinal wall 29 will provide two longitudinallyextending series of separated receptacles or compartments within whichthe liquid within the ice pack will be contained. It will also be seenthat, by reason of the provision of the longitudinal dividing wall 29,some transverse bending of the ice pack may be secured and, by reason ofthis feature, the insert member disclosed in Fig. 5 is preferred overthat disclosed in Figs. 2 and 3.

In Figs. 6 and 7 there is disclosed a further form which the inventionmay take. As in these forms of the invention heretofore described, theice pack I is formed as a hollow container having a quantity of a liquidsealed therein and Within which container there is disposed a separateinsert member which is adapted to cause the liquid within the containerto be divided into a plurality of small separated masses which mayterial and which is intended to be disposed approximately midway betweenthe flat side faces 2, loftheicepackandtobeofsuchareaasto substantiallycover the interior opening in the ice pack. Extending from each of theside faces of this sheet 3| are a plurality of spaced parallel ridges 82which extend transversely of the ice pack and which define therebetweenon each side of the medial sheet 31 a plurality of spaced paralleielongated receptacles which extend transversely of the ice pack andwithin which the liquid within the apparent that when the liquid isfrozen within the receptacles 33 the ice masses so formed will beseparated by the resilient or flexible ridges I! and that the ice packmay therefore be bent as desired. It will be apparent that alongitudinalwalLsimilartowalllOasdisclosedinFig. 5, may be added to theinsert disclosed in Figs. 6 and 7 if improved lateral bending of the icepack is desired. E,

In Figs. 8 and 9 there is disclosed a form of the invention in which theinsert comprises a sheet of flexible or resilient material which ispreferably intended to be disposed approximately midway, between theside wall members 2, 3. On each of the opposite faces of the sheet 40there are formed intersecting walls or partition members whichpreferably extend at right angles to the sheet ll. One series of thesepartition members Ii, on each side of sheet ll, extends transversely tothe ice pack, while another series thereof 42 extends longitudinally ofthe ice pack. By reason of this construction and arrangement there isprovided, on each face of the ice pack, a plurality of receptacles orcompartments which are relatively small in volume and within which theliquid within the ice pack is received. Obviously, when such liquid isfrozen, a large number of small, separated masses of ice will be formed.These ice masses will be separated by flexible or resilient walls andthe entire ice pack may therefore be easily bent either longitudinallyor laterally. If desired, end and side marginal walls may be provided,although these are not required for proper operation of the device.

A further modification of the invention is disclosed in Figs. 10 and 11of the drawings and, referring to these figures, it will be seen thatthis modification comprises a sheet which is formed. of flexible orresilient material and which is pr eferably intended to be disposedapproximately midway between the opposed side walls 2, 3 of the icepack. Extending from each face of the sheet 50 and at any desired anglethereto are a plurality of free-ended posts 5|, wliich may be of anydesired length and thickness and which are preferably formed, integrallywith the sheet 50, of a flexible or resilient material such as rubber.It will be apparent that the posts or studs II and the sheet 50 will bedisposed within any ice which may be formed within the ice pack I andwill effectively prevent the formation of any large mass of ice whichcould only be broken with difliculty.

By the various modifications, and others, according to the presentinvention it will be seen that I have provided an ice pack having apreferably separate insert disposed therein, which insert is so formedas to divide any liquid within (s the ice pack into a large number ofseparated ice pack is received. It will be portions which are separatedby flexible or resilient members, whereby the ice pack may be easilybent to any desired shape. Although certaln modifications of myinvention have been illustrated and described, it will be apparent tothose skilled in the art that further modifications and improvements maybe made without departing in any way from the scope of the invention.for the limits of which reference must be had to the appended claims.

I claim;

l. A therapeuticai-device comprising a hollow, sealed container formedof flexible material and having a quantity of a liquid sealed directly,therein and adapted to be frozen therein, and means for preventing theformation of large masses of ice within said container, whereby saidcontainer may be easily bent when the liquid therein is frozen, saidmeans comprising an insert member sealed within said container and beingseparate therefrom and comprising a sheet of flexible material having aplurality of spaced ridges extending from at least one of the facesthereof and defining therebetween a'piurality of of spaced receptacleswhich are open to the interior of said container and within which theliquid within said container is adapted to be received.

2. A cooling device comprising a hollow, sealed container formed offlexible material and having a quantity of a liquid sealed directlytherein and adapted to be frozen therein, and means for preventing theformation ,of large masses of ice within said container, whereby saidcontainer may be easily bent when the liquid therein is frozen, saidmeans comprising an insert member sealed within said container and beingseparate therefrom and comprising sheet of flexible material having aplurality of spaced ridges extending from both faces thereof andsupporting said sheet between the side walls of said container, saidridges defining therebetween on both sides of said sheet a plurality ofspaced receptacles which are open to the interior of the container andwithin which receptacles the liquid within said container is adapted tobe retained.

3. A cooling device comprising a hollow, sealed container formed offlexible material and having a quantity of a liquid sealed directlytherein and adapted to be frozen therein, and means for preventing theformation of large masses of ice within said container, whereby saidcontainer may be easily bent when the liquid therein is frozen, saidmeans comprising an insert member sealed within said container and beingseparate therefrom and comprising a sheet of flexible material having aplurality of spaced transversely extending wall members and a pluralityof spaced longitudinally extending wall members on at least one of thefaces thereof, said wall members defining a plurality of receptacleswhich are open to the interior of said container and within which theliquid within said container is adapted to be received.

' 4. A cooling device comprising a hollow, sealed container formed offlexible material and having a quantity of a liquid sealed directlytherein and adapted to be frozen therein, and means for preventing theformation of large masses of ice within said container, whereby saidcontainer may be easily bent when the liquid therein is frozen, saidmeans comprising an insert member sealed within said container and beingseparate therefrom and comprising a sheet of flexible material having aplurality of spaced lateral wall within. said container, whereby saidcontainer may be easily bent when the liquid therein is frozen, saidmeans comprising an insert member sealed within said container and beingseparate therefrom and comprising a sheet of flexible ma- 7 terialadapted to be supported between the 0pposite interior faces of the wallsof said container and having spaced means formed thereon which extendinto the interior of said container and into! the liquid therein andwhich support the sheet in position between the spaced side walls of the10 container.

JOSEPH D. BATES.

